Wind Mobile “phone booth” gives 5 min of free long distance

When it comes to marketing, one of the first challenges is simply convincing potential customers to come through the door. Wind already tried that with its 50% discounts, but the Canadian carrier is about to unleash another tactic: free long distance… but it’s not exactly what you think it is.

The first time I heard about this story, my assumption was that you would get some long distance minutes tacked onto your monthly plan for free when you sign up for service with Wind Mobile. That’s not the case. Instead, customers can waltz into Wind “mobile phone booths” and make a long distance call in the store.

You don’t sign a contract. You don’t agree to sign up for service. You just ask to use the phone the same way you would when your regular cell phone runs out of juice and you ask the local diner if you can borrow the phone to call a cab. The kicker is that Wind is a-okay with you doing long distance on that free call… for up to five minutes.

This free service is being offered in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, which presumably also includes the Wind kiosks inside of Blockbuster locations. These same stores are also offering a gift wrapping service too. I wonder how they’d feel about wrapping up a shiny new Telus phone for your cousin?